Iridescence
by Jaxrond
Summary: Green is the color of a mocking smile and facetious tone. Blue is stoic and unwaveringly loyal. Gold shines with sincerity and staunch honor. White is the lack of human touch, the color of skeletal fingers and death. Colored smoke drifts through the fetters of time, free of its restraints. Soft green, dark blue, and vibrant gold are the colors that overcome impossibility. (AU)
1. Prologue: Self-condemnation

_"Self-condemnation: Noun- The blaming of oneself."_

 ** _April 25, 1868: Itabashi Execution Grounds, Edo_**

 _It was a night she would never forget. A night when the clouds had blotted out the moon and stars as though to steal all light from the world. A night in which the air was cold despite the warmth of the coming summer that had preceded it. A fitting night, in all of its dourness. It was suitable that her failure be accompanied by such darkness. She would never forget the way that the earth had burned, a perfect circle where the girls had stood, holding tightly to one another. The way they had looked at her with trust, despite the fear they felt, as she had gathered her power. The terrible flash and the smell of smoke and fire. The moment when they were gone, and some innate sense within her told her that she had not done as she meant to. In her desperation and lack of training, her emotions had tainted her incantation. She would never forget the fear and grief and betrayal in the eyes of her longtime friends when she told them of her blunder. A blunder that had cost them their daughters._

 _She would never forget, and she would never forgive herself._

A tap on her shoulder pulls her from her memories. The memories of the blackened grass, a dead spot where her power had taken effect. Of the terrible physical drain, the exhaustion that had nearly driven consciousness from her. It had happened only a month ago and was still so fresh in her mind. Slowly, she opens her eyes, eyes so inky blue that they are nearly black, and looks up at her companion.

The oni before her gives a small smile, one that would have been larger if she had not sensed Nemu's dark mood and restrained herself. Her long white hair is gathered in two buns, one on either side of her head, and held with a set of red tama. Her gold eyes glitter in the darkness that clings to the heels of the setting sun, mischief and excitement in her narrow face. When she tilts her head, the last rays of light illuminate her pointed ears and the small, hornlike protrusions on her forehead, just under her hairline. When Nemu catches her eye, her smile widens into a grin, revealing canines that are nearly the fangs of an animal.

"Mikage-hime, it is nearly time," the oni purrs, her polite tone doing little to mask her anticipation, "Look."

Nemu sits up from the tree she had been resting herself against and peeks around the edge. Their vantage point from a stand of trees on a hill gives her a perfect view into the walled yard. As her companion said, the last of the men are finally departing from the yard outside the only building on the grounds themselves, a two story structure that squats like a bulbous toad in the grass, a prison surrounded by a field of murder. The men leave behind the pit where they buried the body of the once-great leader. Nemu's eyes narrow, falling on the patch of freshly laid dirt in the middle. It will take some work, but, it will not be impossible. She stands, dusting her black clothes off. The men's shirt clings to her curves while the pants billow about her legs before cinching at her ankles under her black tabi boots. Her dark hair was bound up in a tight knot before her departure on this mission, and a sword hangs at her hip. When did she become this? A warrior and an undertaker? Just a month ago, she was been tending flowers outside the tea shop. Was it in that moment when she realized her attempt to save her family had gone awry? Was that when she made the shift?

The oni at her side creeps forward. Despite her pale orange and white yukata, she makes no noise moving over the fallen leaves of the hilltop copses floor. After a moment, she looks back, baring her teeth in a grin again.

"They have left. You will retrieve the body, ne? And I will get his head."

Nemu's eyes remain steady and dull as they meet those of the oni woman. She gives a single nod, confirming their plan.

"Be careful, Yoko-san. We do not want them to discover who has done this."

Yoko titters, covering her mouth with one sleeve-covered hand. Amusement is clearly visible in her expression.

"They are only humans, Mikage-hime."

The response presses Nemu's lips into a thin line. How easy it is to forget after living so long among the humans that most of her kind think of them as lesser beings. Even those who are benevolent look down upon humanity in that condescending way in which an adult might look upon a misbehaved child. It is a sentiment that Nemu can never share.

Some of her allies have commented that she acts like a human rather than an oni, being worried about certain issues that, really, have little to do with the oni themselves. They are confused as to why she is so adamant in doing the work she is now, which lays beyond their common goal of foiling those pureblood lords who wished to rule over them all.

Her oni allies joined her because of her status as a pureblood female, and because she is backed by Sen-hime. Nemu herself, despite her natural status, would have garnered few followers on her own, besides those who believe firmly in the old traditions and ways. It was the words of another that caused others to respect her enough to follow her.

When Sen-hime found her through their mutual link with the Shinsengumi organization, she immediately knew who she was. Apparently, word of Nemu's exile and subsequent disappearance had spread through the oni world like wildfire, and Sen had been searching for her for some time, afraid of what may happen to a lone oni woman ostracized from her family. However, because of Sen's youth, the exile itself had occurred when she was still a child. By the time she began to actively search for Nemu, the elder oni had already settled into human society and gathered a new family about herself.

"Mikage-hime?"

Yoko is waiting for her signal. Nemu nods, pulling her black scarf up over the lower half of her face.

With another titter, the oni flits away. To the human eye, it would seem that she simply vanishes and reappears near the door of the two-story building, completely circumventing the walls. That is hardly the case. Nemu saw every step the woman took, despite her enhanced oni speed. It is just that they could move so very quickly when the situation warrants. To her knowledge, Nemu herself is the only one with the power to simply _move_ to another place without a need to physically cover the distance.

As Yoko slips in through the door, still as silent as a night breeze, Nemu darts down the hillside and leapt the wall. She is less accustomed to her superhuman attributes, and has a bit more difficulty than Yoko in simply flogging the human defenses. The idea is that, once someone enters Itabashi, they do not leave again. However, that only applies to those who are brought in wearing chains, it seems.

Using the fading light and the shadows it creates Nemu drops over the wall and skulks along its edge, creeping until she is a scant ten meters from the grave. There, she stops. A careful glance to the windows tells her that many have been shuttered for the coming night, only a few remaining open. The only guards standd at the main gate on the opposite side of the prison. This is a place that criminals are brought to be executed. No one expects two women to break into it. Nor do they expect the dead to escape.

In a burst of oni speed, Nemu moves to the graveside and crouches in the grass, her tabi touching the freshly turned dirt. With little trepidation as to what she is doing, she plunges her gloved hand into the soft soil, pushing until her fingers meet a firm, still warm body. It has been less than an hour since he was beheaded. Nemu and Yoko bore witness to the spectacle themselves, watching from the trees as the sword swung down through his neck. Nemu had barely changed expression, despite the sick feeling that wrenched her stomach when the blade sliced through him and his blood had splattered. Yoko had covered her mouth with her sleeve, murmuring something in distaste. Despite her disgust, she had still been more than willing to retrieve the man's head.

Nemu's fingers clench in the material that lay between her hand and the man's skin. Then, she plunges her other hand into the soil so that she has a firm grasp on him. She is forced to her knees, her arms nearly up to her shoulders in the dirt. Gritting her teeth, she gives a mighty heave, arching her body back. The lack of leverage foils her. Even with the strength granted by her oni blood, she struggles. Oni or not, she is still a woman, naturally weaker than the oni males, and one who has not done a great deal of physical labor to exercise her muscles. The dirt fights against her, clinging to its captive and weighing him down, and, her target is not a small man. All of these factors leave her making little headway. She lets out a breathless huff, trying to think of a solution.

 _If Kadan were here…_

She cuts that thought off quickly. She can't think about Kadan. She has stopped herself from thinking about Kadan for nearly fourteen years, ever since her exile. To think about Kadan is to give in to weakness, which she cannot afford right now. But, she cannot deny how much she wishes he were at her side.

Her solution comes to her the way a weight might remind the one wearing it of its presence. She closes her eyes briefly, pushing all thoughts of Kadan aside. She has known that, in order to accomplish her goals, she will be required to use her power. However, after her blunder with the girls, she has not been able to bring herself to do it more than once or twice, and then only in desperate situations. Her eyes open and flicker to the prison. How long will it be until someone decides to let in some fresh air or catches a glimpse of her through one of the still-open windows as they pass by? She has to move, now, despite her misgivings.

Resigning herself, Nemu tightens her grip on the corpse and turns her gaze to the trees she and Yoko hid within. Her eyes narrow as she focuses on them, willing herself to return to the place she was sitting before their venture. The power flickers, barely responsive for a moment in the pit of her stomach. Then, it suddenly rushes, filling her with warmth from her fingertips to her toes. She does not have time to blink before she is kneeling beside the tree, gripping a headless corpse tightly. She casts her wide eyes back to the grave, watching the dirt begins to cave inward to fill the hole where the body once was. She winces slightly. That will have to be remedied.

Carefully, Nemu pulls the body to lean against the tree, avoiding looking at the severed neck as much as she can. It is disturbing, the perfect cross-section displaying his bloodied muscles, backbone, and a hole that she assumes is his gullet. She pauses as a thought occurs to her: would the dirt have fallen down into it? Revulsion fills her as she involuntarily leans forward to peer down the hole in his neck. Does it sit in his stomach and lungs even now? With a shudder, she jerks back and stands, forcing herself away from the corpse and back down the hill. She again climbs the wall and hurries along it to the graveside. The sun is nearly completely set and the moon hangs in the sky overhead, dimmed by the remaining daylight. Nemu is all too aware of this as she quickly moves the grave soil so that it again forms a lump. A smaller lump than before, but a lump nonetheless. Hopefully, no one will take notice.

A movement from the building catches her eye and she looks up sharply. To her great relief, it is Yoko, carrying a bag under her arm. Nemu leaves the graveside to catch up with her as she crests the hill and again disappears among the trees. Yoko looks down at the headless corpse leaning against the tree, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Then, she turns to Nemu, her lips stretching in a wide smile. She holds up the bag, which is just large enough to contain the man's head. Already, Nemu can see a growing dark spot where she assumes his severed neck to be. Oddly enough, she also detects the scent of alcohol coming from the bag.

"They had just put his head in spirits," Yoko says, giving the bag a small shake, "It should not have had enough time to do lasting damage," she cocks her head then, "I still do not see why we could not rescue him before he was decapitated."

Nemu bends and, painstakingly, pulls the corpse onto her back.

"Because he had to die in order to throw our enemies off the trail. If Kaito caught word," she stands with a grunt, "Of us saving members of the Shinsengumi, he would take measures to stop us."

Yoko cocks her head the other way, considering Nemu with her narrow eyes.

"You really believe they can be some sort of trump card against your brother?"

Nemu gives a nod, reaching up with one hand to pull down the scarf so that she can breathe properly under the weight of the corpse.

"Perhaps. If Kaito's curse has taken effect on the leaders of the Shinsengumi, then they are undead. When Kazama-sama spoke to me, he said that they would not be able to be killed by the weapons of men."

"This man has been beheaded," Yoko's tone is colored with doubt.

Nemu readjusts the weight on her back and begins to walk awkwardly away.

"Yes. But, is he truly dead?" she staggers slightly under the body, "That aside, it will spite Kaito to have his 'playthings' taken out of his reach."

She steps past Yoko as the oni stares at her without expression. It is a few seconds before the foxlike woman catches up with her. They walk in silence for a long time, trailing through those uninhabited places where they will likely not be discovered. It is slow going, simply because Nemu is lugging the weight of the man's body.

"Does he yet breathe?" Yoko asks after a mile or so, obviously having taken the time to consider the conundrum of their target's state of undeath.

Nemu shakes her head. The blood from the man's severed neck has soaked the shoulder of her shirt and is creeping toward other parts of her torso.

"I cannot say. If he does, then it is too shallow to notice."

Yoko wrinkles her nose once more at the corpse before pressing onward again.

"Hmph. I do not like this distortion of the natural order. The dead should stay dead," she grumbles, eyeing the bag in her hands. By now, a good portion of the fabric has darkened with blood and spirits.

The beleaguered Nemu gives no response, re-adjusting the weight on her back as it begins to slip. It is disturbing how, more than an hour after his beheading, the body is still warm. When she grips his arm to pull it more firmly over her shoulder, it feels as though life still flows through his veins. Perhaps it does.

They go another quarter mile, Yoko murmuring her distaste concerning their mission and Nemu wearily carrying the body on her back. They have just dared to step out onto the main road when another form appears at Nemu's side, taking the corpse from her and pulling it onto a much stronger back.

"What delayed you, Mikage-hime? I worried that you had been discovered and outnumbered."

Nemu looks up tiredly. The male oni, Katsuki, towers head and shoulders above her. He looks back, his true form hidden from the world much like hers is, dark eyes serious. His commoner's clothes billow around him as a night breeze picks up. With the corpse on his back, he is a hulking shadow in the darkness. The sun fully set some time during the trek from Itabashi, sending the world into night.

"And why does it smell of alcohol?" he continues, directing the question to Yoko.

Yoko brandishes the bag containing the head.

"They were going to soak his head in spirits," she explains, "And we were slow because of the weight of that," she points at the corpse.

Katsuki turns his dark gaze on the female oni. He dwarfs her considerably, looking practically brutish in comparison to her small, slight frame.

"Did you not offer to assist Mikage-hime in carrying the load?"

Yoko scoffs, her expression turning sour.

"I snuck into the prison and retrieved the head. I've carried it all the way here. Besides, carrying that thing would have gotten blood all over me."

Katsuki's brows furrows and he opened his mouth to respond. Nemu holds up a hand, silencing him.

"It is fine, Katsuki-san. I am well and was not harmed by the mission. Come, we must get him to Kimiko-san, before the injury does lasting damage. I do not know what the nature of this curse is, aside from what I was told."

The male oni gives a nod.

"Understood, hime. We will depart immediately. I have brought the wagon, as you requested. Kimiko-onee-san is waiting for us."

Katsuki leads them to where he has hidden a horse and cart around a bend in the road. It is a simple thing, used for farming, and the horse is a weathered old mare. Yoko immediately springs onto the bench at the front, silently conveying her refusal to ride in the back where she risks dirtying herself. Katsuki lays the body in the back of the cart, spreading a blanket over it. He then helps Nemu in next to it. She murmurs her thanks and sits with her back leaned against one side, her knees pulled up to her chest. The blood on her shirt has turned cold and uncomfortably sticky. She hardly notices.

A moment later, the cart is rattling down the road. Nemu closes her eyes, ignoring the jouncing and jolting of the cart beneath her. The warmth of the body, lying just close enough to exude its heat to her, reminds her of their venture. She sighs. She knows that this was the first of many such missions. Undoubtedly, the remaining members of the Shinsengumi's leaders would fall soon enough, and she will need to retrieve them before they can be disposed of. It would be problematic if, when they awaken years from now, they had lain underground for decades. If they awake.

A frown touches her face as she remembers the first time she had come into contact with Kazama Chikage. She has played the meeting over and over again in her mind, picking at details and agonizing over every word spoken. It was that meeting that set her on this path. That meeting that prompted her to send the girls away. That meeting that led to her horrible blunder.

Kazama, she has realized, can be a cruel and calculating man, yes. But, he is also honorable, and it was his honor that had brought him to her. He could have left her to be taken by surprise at her brother's actions. After all, she had not been allied with Sen-hime and the others at that time. She was alone, defending the humans who had taken her in when she was cast out of her clan. He hadn't, though.

Her frown deepens as she remembers rounding the corner in her small home and finding the oni lord standing in the common room, as straight and proud as ever. She remembers the trepidation that ran through her when his gaze fell on her. What purpose did he have? Had he finally given up on the Yukimura girl and come instead to take her, an unclaimed pureblood female? She had heard of his pursuit when he came to the area in service of the Satsuma. Even when working alone, she had kept her ears and eyes open. His quest for his bride was not unknown to her, and, she confessed to herself, she had done her best to avoid him, wary that his attention would switch to her. He must have seen something in her eyes when their gazes met, because he had smirked.

 _"I am not here to take you, Mikage Nemu, if that is what you fear."_

 _Nemu felt immediate unbridled relief. All throughout her time growing up within the Mikage clan, she had heard of Kazama's iron hand and proud demeanor. She had no desire to be bound to him. Still, his answer did not relax her. She subconsciously reached for her power, on edge and preparing to defend herself if need be._

 _"Then why have you come, Kazama Chikage?"_

 _She was pleased that her voice did not tremble when she spoke to him. It was soft, but firm. The male oni watched her for a moment before turning away, pacing to the side and observing the quaint kitchen in the next-door room._

 _"Hmph. You have become much like the humans during your exile…how unfortunate."_

 _Nemu gave no response, having none when he disregarded her question. She cared little for his disapproval, but, she was still wary of his presence. She was keenly aware of it, as a wolf is aware when one not of its pack has entered its territory. The blonde oni took his time in observing her abode. Then, he turned back to her. His lips twisted just slightly in a wry smirk when he found her unmoved._

 _"How patiently you wait…" he stepped closer, pausing only when he was close enough that she had to look up to see his face, "I have come to bring you a warning."_

 _Nemu's brows furrowed in confusion then._

 _"A warning?"_

 _Kazama's red eyes lingered on hers as he gave a small nod._

 _"Your brother, Mikage Kaito, has made a move that I doubt you know of yet. It seems that, after your father passed, he received word of your current location…and your relations with the humans you call your 'friends'," he turned then, and paced away once more, "He then traced those 'friends' back to the Shinsengumi and found me," he paused, looking back at her, "You should know that he offered an alliance, which I refused."_

 _Nemu cocked her head, still wearing an expression of confusion. She did not understand why he was telling her this, but, she did not interrupt._

 _"I have no wish to dally with a clan that values its females so little as to cast them out…your offense must have truly been great, but, it matters little when we are dying out so quickly. When I turned him away, I believe I provoked him into taking action…against you and against me."_

 _Nemu was surprised by this. Against a Lord of the West? Kaito must be feeling drunk on his new power as recently the ascended clan patriarch. Normally, he was much more calculating._

 _"What action?" she asked warily._

 _Kazama said nothing for a moment, continuing his slow walk to the window. He took a seat on the sill, gazing out._

 _"I am sure you are aware of the nature of his power."_

 _A shudder ran down her spine. How could she not be, when she had spent so long under the same roof? Every oni's power manifested in a way unique the oni themselves. Nemu had been able to move across spaces with a mere application of will. Kaito had been able to cause misfortune as was his wont. A curse-bringer, of sorts._

 _"Who has he used it on?" she breathed, feeling dread building in the pit of her stomach._

 _Kazama leaned against the side of the sill, his red eyes sliding back to her._

 _"The Shinsengumi themselves. I can only assume it was done to spite both of us, me through depriving me of true victory and you…through harming your young humans."_

 _Nemu's thoughts had flickered to the girls then. The daughters of the women who had saved her life after her exile. They had found her lying in an alley, slowly starving to death as her oni healing abilities worked to save her life, which only served in dragging out her end. The girls she had watched grow up from tiny sprites in brightly colored yukatas to refined young women in flowing kimonos. Young women who had, in an unlikely turn of events, found love among the feared Wolves of Mibu. Nemu's eyes flickered in something like panic. It was just like her brother to learn everything about someone and then slowly break them down. He would harm those men just to watch the girls suffer. For her to watch the girls suffer. Then, he would harm the girls, knowing that it would drive her mad to lose them, members of the only truly loving family she had ever had._

 _"What has he done?" she managed, her voice almost cracking._

 _Kazama's red gaze colored with something almost like pity._

 _"He requested to meet with me, in Edo. There, he told me that, as a token of goodwill, he had dealt most cruelly with my enemies. When I questioned him, he explained that the curse he wrought over those humans is the most difficult he had ever performed. I did not doubt his words, as he was obviously feeling the effects of using a large amount of power."_

 _Nemu could see it. Her brother's face, already pale, pallid in death's tones from using his power to the fullest that he possibly could. The dark shadows under his golden eyes even as they glittered victoriously. The cold twist of his mouth as he spoke._

 _"I asked him about the manner in which he had taken it upon himself to interfere in my business. He replied that he had crafted a 'curse', and explained to me that this curse will only truly take effect when its victims fall in the war that is brewing. The curse itself, as he explained it, is that they will not find peace in death. Instead, they will reawaken after a long sleep in a time when the way of the sword is gone and everything they have fought for is left in the dust of history. They will be unfitting for this future world, but, because of their undead state, will not be able to be killed by traditional methods. Blades, bullets, poisons, even the elements themselves. They will be left to wander the Earth, unable to be anything but what they are. Ageless, timeless, with no end in sight," Kazama's eyes were steady as he watched her, barely any inflection in his tone, "He then shared that he plans to collect the young human women you concern yourself with. That he believed you undeserving of such camaraderie," he harrumphed, "He concerns himself overmuch with the stipulations of your exile."_

 _Nemu barely heard his addendum. In that moment, her very blood turned to ice in her veins. Her breath stopped and her mind halted in its tracks. Her heart stilled and her eyes glazed. She felt nothing but horrific understanding in that split second. Then, the world suddenly crashed down. She drew a ragged breath._

 _Those girls, who were so much like her own family, were in the greatest danger they would ever be. Kaito had always been vindictive. She had known that, if he ever knew of her human friends, he would find a way to harm them. Despite the ruthlessness of the Mikage clan, Nemu had always maintained a caring heart and gentle spirit. He had exploited that in their youth and would continue to do so now. Human lives meant nothing to him. He would recover from his use of so much power, then, he would claim the girls, knowing that Nemu would be most hurt by the pain of the children she had watched grow up. They would be trapped in his grasp, subject to whatever horrors he wished to inflict upon them. And he would inflict horrors. Horrors that would make them wish for death. What made it all worse was that this was not even a true revenge against her. It was simply his way of reminding her that she was not outside his power. He would use her beloved humans as his playthings for as long as they amused him, then he would kill them in the most painful way he could. That was his nature. The added casualty of the Shinsengumi was an unfortunate one, most likely caused because they had been drawn to his attention as being powerful enough to stand against pureblood oni. They were a moderate threat to him, and it amused him to put them under his power. That they were affiliated with Nemu's human family had simply made cursing them all the more enjoyable._

 _Kazama cocked his head slightly, observing her. He took in the way she paled, her eyes shining as though tears might fall. It was pitiful, how deeply she was affected by this news. Nonetheless, she was a precious pureblood female, foolishly cast aside by her family because of her disobedience to her father. He inwardly scoffed. Everything about the woman was pitiable._

 _"What will you do now?" he asked, mildly curious._

 _Nemu was silent for a moment, taking the time to gather herself. He could see the thoughts flickering behind her eyes as she scrambled for a solution. Then, after a few moments, something within her clicked. She looked up at him._

 _"I'm going to put them out of his reach."_

 _The red eyes blinked lazily, nothing changing within them._

 _"How?"_

 _In response to the question, Nemu's lips pressed into a thin line and her dark eyes became guarded again. She had relaxed just slightly as they spoke. With that question, though, she slipped into wariness again. Kazama read this and smirked._

 _"I am merely curious," he stood. Then, he looked at her contemplatively for a moment, "…you will not be swayed to return to your people? The Mikage clan alone has exiled you. Were you to return to the West with me, you would be safe. Your brother would not be able to harm you. You could find a husband, continue your line, live out your days with a family of your own making."_

 _Nemu stared at him, not having expected this. He moved closer, continuing._

 _"Leave the humans to their own devices. They are not your concern."_

 _At that, Nemu's surprise wore off and she immediately shook her head._

 _"They are my concern, Kazama-sama. They saved my life and took me in. I owe them a great deal. They are my family now, and I must repay them in any way I can."_

 _She left out the other thought that flickered through her mind. The thought that she could only settle for marrying one man, and he was far beyond her reach._

 _The oni lord sighed in response, though, she caught a glimpse of something like respectful understanding in his expression._

 _"If you feel it is your duty, then I know I cannot convince you."_

 _He turned away, then, striding at an unhurried pace toward the door. Nemu watched him, thrown off by his sudden departure. In the doorway, he stopped and turned, facing her again._

 _"If you endeavor to stand against the Mikage clan, you will need allies. Seek out Ayumi Suzuki and her brother, Katsuki, on Mount Kurama. They are descendants of the original line and still hold true to the old ways. They will grant you aid, though, of what kind, I am not sure."_

 _Still in a state of shock that he was helping her, Nemu murmured an "arigato" without truly realizing what she was saying. He gave a regal nod. And then he was gone before she could think clearly enough to question his motives._

Nemu jolts when the cart rattles to a stop, torn from replaying the conversation in her mind for the umpteenth time. She was in a sort of half-doze, nearly asleep as the cart clattered down the road to the small village outside of Edo. They could not go far because they did not know how long they would have before too much lasting damage would be done to the corpse they carry with them. Still, they had to be far enough from the city that they will not be caught. Nemu looks out and sees that they have stopped before a small house, really more of a shack, in which a faint light shines through the window slots in the wooden sliding doors.

A moment later, Katsuki is at the end of the wagon, extending his hand to her. Nemu takes it, and he pulls her from the cart with as much ease as if she weighs nothing. She sets her feet down with a small word of thanks, watching as he retrieves the body.

"Please, Mikage-hime, let us go inside. You must wash the blood from your skin and change into more comfortable clothes."

In another time, Nemu would have smiled at his concerned tone. As it is, she gives him a nod of thanks. He and his sister have done a great deal for her in these past weeks, coming all the way with her from Kyoto to undertake this endeavor, even contacting Sen-hime and informing her of their alliance with Nemu, thereby resulting in her ties with the influential young oni woman. It was only out of his respect to Nemu's wishes that Katsuki had not gone to retrieve their target himself. It had taken her putting her foot down to convince him to simply wait for her and Yoko to complete the task when the plan was conceived.

Yoko flits onto the porch that wraps around the small house and raps her knuckles against the wood door. As Nemu steps up beside her, the panel is pulled aside, revealing a lone woman. She smiles and ushers them inside. As soon as they gather in the room beyond, Ayumi closes the door once more and turns to them. She approaches Nemu and gently lays her hand on her upper arms, ignoring the blood that has soaked into Nemu's sleeve.

"Mikage-hime, you took longer than expected," she says softly, her brown eyes full of motherly reproach and relief all at once, "I am glad to see you well and whole. You worried me."

"My apologies, Suzuki-san. It was not my intention. Unfortunately, our patient was heavier than I anticipated."

Ayumi's gaze shifts briefly to the body that her younger brother is laying out on a cot in the center of the room, near the flickering lamp. She frowns just slightly then. Nemu knows what has puzzled her. Ayumi is a quiet and reserved woman. However, her personality belies her great power. Though her line has a streak of human blood, she has inherited an ability that Nemu herself is envious of.

"…you spoke the truth," Ayumi murmurs, "He yet lives," her eyes dart between the body and the bag that Yoko laid near the severed neck, "I can sense his life even now."

Her grip on Nemu's arms tightens, and the younger oni can see the disturbance in the elder's expression. She believed Nemu when she told her of the curse, however, she did not fully comprehended it. This is not right. When a man loses his head, it means the end of his life. Indubitably. Yet, here is one whose life has been confirmed by Ayumi herself.

Yoko, who seems to have been waiting on this affirmation, gives the decapitated man a look of renewed revulsion. She again raises her hand, covering her mouth with her sleeve.

"How barbaric," she says, her voice almost a hiss, "The Mikage surely know no pity."

Katsuki shoots the foxlike woman a look, as though to remind her that a Mikage stands in their presence. Nemu pays them little mind, only humming in agreement. Her gaze remains on Ayumi, who is still processing her shock. After a long moment, the healer take a deep breath.

"I can make an attempt, Mikage-hime. But," she looks up at the taller woman, "I can guarantee nothing. I have never reattached a man's head before. I have no idea of how long this might take or how much power will be required. Nor how well his functions will return."

Nemu gives a nod, her expression turning encouraging.

"I understand, Suzuki-san. All I ask is that you try," she looks back at the body, "This man has demonstrated honor, and he deserves more than to be caught in my brother's whims."

Ayumi's expression softens and she squeezes Nemu's arms slightly.

"You are right. I will try, Mikage-hime. For your sake, and for his."

Nemu smiles, stepping aside as Ayumi releases her. She gives a small bow.

"Thank you. It means a great deal."

Ayumi bowes in return and hurried over to the body. She murmurs something to Katsuki and, together, the two of them begin tending to the man. Nemu turns to leave, opening the door to a small side-room in which her meager belongings have been stored in a trunk. It would do her good to clean up and put on fresh clothes. She smells distinctly like blood and grave soil, an unpleasant combination. As her hand rests on the door, one of her feet already inside, she is halted once more by Ayumi's gentle voice.

"Mikage-hime, what did you say this man's name was? I don't quite recall."

Nemu looks over her shoulder, her eyes falling on the dark-haired woman and her brother, their features made even more similar in the flickering light of the lamp. Yoko stands off to the side, watching Nemu from the corner of her eye.

"His name is Kondou Isami. Commander of the Shinsengumi."

Ayumi gives a nod of recognition. She looks down at the head, which she has removed from the bag.

"Ah, yes…he has a good face. Kind and gentle. I did not expect it from a warrior."

Nemu's dark eyes flicker down to Kondou Isami's head. Indeed, his face is caught in a soft, peaceful smile, which he was undoubtedly wearing in his final moments. She stares at him expressionlessly for a brief pause. Then, she turns away.

"Hai. I have heard that he was of a kind disposition. I only spoke with him once briefly."

How long ago that seemed, when she had gone to fetch a young Jun from the Shinsengumi headquarters when her visit with her captain went overlong. An age, a lifetime, an eternity. Quickly, before her guilt can consume her again, she steps into the room, leaving the Suzuki siblings to their work. Ignoring the weight of Yoko's eyes on her back, she slides the door shut, sealing herself in darkness.

* * *

 **Hello, dear readers, and welcome to _Iridescence_ , the rewrite of _Wisps of Smoke_. I'm very much looking forward to the development of both the plot and the characters that will take place in this story and can't wait to share it with you! I'm hoping it will completely outshine the original story.**

 **I'd like to throw out a big thanks to Melissiaew and 14Phantom for betaing this prologue! Lord knows I needed it desperately!**

 **And, a quick note to _Wisps_ readers, if you have any ideas to throw at me concerning certain future aspects of this fic, shoot me a message. I'm always open to them, though following up on them depends on their relevance to where the plot is going :)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please, leave a review!**


	2. Mundane

_"_ _Mundane: Adjective-_ _lacking interest or excitement; dull."_

 _May 13, 2016: Mayhill, Wyoming_

The wheel turns. Round, and round, and round, and round. Day in and day out, scan, stock, supply, smile, scan, stock, supply, smile. Eight hours a day, five days a week. It's like high school all over again, with the way that Friday's coming is like the sun shining out from behind the clouds. Unfortunately, it's not Friday, and it won't be for three days yet. Three more days of hellish existence, then, a weekend without the nonsense that comes with this job. Customer service in the cesspit of _this_ establishment is far from ideal.

If there's an entry in the dictionary for 'Grocery Store Hell', there's definitely an image of the Happy-mart beside it. Happy-mart. How Emily has grown to despise that logo and name. Who the hell calls their store the Happy-mart, especially when no one inside is actually happy? Not even the customers. Not that they have many customers. Sure, Happy-mart is the only grocery in the on this side of Mayhill, but, that doesn't matter much when their food is crap and there's a Walmart just on the other end of town. When one says 'I work at Happy-mart', they get sympathetically awkward smiles and a regaling of some terrible experience someone's had within the store. Either that, or a quick diversion of the subject. Happy-mart is infamous, known by its more than slightly terrifying logo of a cartoonish, smiling lemon and cheap food. Not exactly something someone can associate with happiness.

Emily eyes the plastic-wrapped heads of lettuce that she's working to stack on the chilled shelves of the produce section. She can already spy a few spots of brown on the green leaves, which means that, if left alone for too long, the heads themselves will rot. Hence the low prices. She wrinkles her nose and keeps stacking. She doesn't get much say in what goes on the shelves, she's just the one who puts it out. She's also the one who receives the customer complaints about the quality of the food and the questions about 'why don't you have…?'. Life at the Happy-mart is less than comfortable and more than one employee has practically run away screaming after spending any significant amount of time there. But, not Emily. She has remained for over a year, scanning, stocking, supplying, and smiling. Just like her boss, Heath, told her to on her first day of work.

She has to remind herself that the nearness to her home and her lack of a car are her main reason for working at the store.

One of the dim, white lights overhead flickers, giving the already dreary interior an even more institutionalized feel. She shoots it a glare. The place already looks like the world's most well-stocked asylum, what with its faded yellow walls and grey tiled floors. Half of the lights don't work and the ones that do are dim enough to give everyone who stood under them a washed-out, pasty aesthetic. It didn't matter how much makeup Emily put on, the store itself seemed to be against her looking pretty while at work. She suspected that the pure shadiness of the place was part of the reason they didn't get much business aside from regulars and unsuspecting passersby. Though, it wasn't like Heath would be replacing those lights anytime soon. Or, rather, ever. They'll stay right where they are until the apocalypse, at which point it wouldn't matter anymore.

Finished with the lettuce, Emily steps back from the shelves and returns the cart she's been using to the back room. Her hair, so light brown that it's nearly blonde, is dull in the dim white lights. She attempted to style it nicely before leaving home that morning, pulling its length over one shoulder in a loose tail, her bangs hanging about her face. Her makeup, too, shows an attempt to look _nice_ despite the collared, sunflower yellow shirt and khakis that serve as a uniform. In a small show of defiance against the employee handbook, numerous gold bangles of varying thicknesses decorate her wrists, matching earrings dangling from her earlobes. The most she can manage, despite her efforts, is a sense of personal style that clashes with the horrid yellow of her shirt. She could do with literally _any_ other color than yellow. It's just a sick perversion of her favorite color, gold. Gold, unfortunately, doesn't work well as a color for a shirt like this.

With a small, disgusted sound, Emily puts the cart back with the rows of others and, discretely, glances around. Then, she pulls her phone out of her pocket to check the time. Heath is a cheapskate who won't replace the lights, but, being caught with a cellphone out is a criminal offense that results in immediate 'termination'. She's been working at the store a year and still hasn't been caught, mostly because Heath keeps to his office and only comes out in the case of dire emergencies, like a Doritos craving. Her blue eyes flicker over the screen, finding the time to be 3:45. Fifteen more minutes of grocery store hell and then, freedom.

As she is about to shove the phone back into her pocket, she pauses, looking at it again. The image on the lock screen brings a small smile to her lips. It was taken at her twenty-second birthday last October, at the only decent restaurant in the area. The Paper Moon has long been Emily's favorite place to eat, as well as that of her three best friends. Her adoptive parents don't care much for it, but, for Emily and her housemates, the Asian Fusion cuisine is perfect. The four of them have always been drawn to Japanese culture especially, which is part of the reason that they managed to become such fast friends upon their meeting. Their landlady, Nemu, is especially fond of Japanese culture, mostly because her ancestral namesake lived in Kyoto during the 1860's, when it was still the capital of the nation. At least, that's what she told Emily and the other two girls who rented rooms in the large house she owns. Jade and Amber are both younger than Emily, but, only by a small number of years. The lock screen image shows all four of them at a table together, smiling brightly as the waitress snapped the photo for them. In the picture, Emily and Jade sit on one side of the table, the older woman's arm around the younger in a surprise embrace. Nemu and Amber occupy the other side, Nemu laughing in a way that lights up her entire face and Amber giving her soft approximation of a wide grin.

Her lips quirking, Emily shoves the phone into her front pocket again. After she left her adoptive parents' house when she'd graduated from high school, it was Nemu who offered a place for Emily to live. They met when Emily was still in high school. Nemu was only twenty at the time, but, she'd inherited a rather large house, and a nice sum of money, from her grandparents, who had lived in the area. With little interest in attending college, Nemu had taken a job at the Mayhill High School as an assistant librarian. As a junior, Emily had never been very academic and was struggling through a research project. Nemu took pity on her and helped with finding materials and resources. Emily was very grateful to her and, after that first meeting, often came down to the library for assistance with homework. When Emily mentioned that she was planning to move out when she graduated, Nemu immediately offered her a room.

"I won't charge much. We're friends. And it's not like I need the money," she said, smiling with her dark eyes, "Besides, I'm lonely living in that big house by myself."

Emily accepted. How could she not? The deal was almost been good to be true. Nemu was a good and caring friend and Emily wasn't making a lot of money to pay rent for an apartment with. While Happy-mart did pay her just above minimum wage, online classes took up a good portion of her income. It's a great arrangement, and her housemates are wonderful too. Aside from the pranks Amber occasionally pulls.

The intercom clicks on overhead, breaking into her introspection.

 _"_ _Emily up front."_

Emily's eye twitches when her coworker, Judith's, voice crackles over the speakers. Every time she hears it, she feels the strange urge to punch someone or something. The translation for what was said is: Come check this customer out because I don't want to. Which is part of what irks her.

Thoroughly annoyed and now even more glad that she's leaving in less than fifteen minutes, Emily shoves the swinging doors to the back room open with a bang and marches between them, her shoes squeaking over the tiles. She walked up the freezer aisle and came to the front of the store, more than ready to shove Judith into one of those freezers and padlock the door, more than tired of her laziness. The teenager has been nothing but a nuisance since she started a few months earlier. They're the only two who work the first shift, which means that Emily has the _pleasure_ of working with her all the time. Judith is as lazy as they come and cares much more about flirting with any young male customer who comes through than she is with actually working. Model thin and Barbie blonde, she looks the part of shallow flirt too. Personally, Emily thinks she should have tried to be an actress on one of those trashy television shows. At least that would have gotten her out of the area.

Emily forces a smile onto her face when she sees the customer. A man, she notices. Old, balding, but with a kindly face. The type of customer who would rather shop at Happy-mart than Walmart simply because that's what he _does_. Enough said. She sighs in relief. At least he looks nice. He's perusing the magazines at the end of the checkout aisle with a curious expression, his startlingly blue eyes warm and laid back. He stands surprisingly erect, but the sparse white hair on top of his head betrays his age despite that.

Emily swings around to the computer behind the conveyer and turns the belt on, hands automatically reaching for the items as they near her.

"Hello, sir, did you find everything alright?" she asks, the same question she's always expected to ask.

"Yes, I did. Thank you," the old man smiles again.

His voice causes her to glance up. It isn't tinged with the reediness of age like she expected. Instead, it's quite strong and firm. She internally make a noise of mild surprise. She wasn't expecting that. She cocks her head curiously but says nothing, simply scanning through various food items. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just canned fruits and vegetables, pasta, milk, and the like.

"Glad to hear it, sir," she replies, she glances down, "That's a cool cane."

She didn't notice before, but, the old man is carrying a long, black cane, the head of an eagle wrapped in his fingers at the top. The end rests on the floor, giving the appearance that he might be using it, but, Emily doubts it. He smiles, bearing straight, white teeth that she immediately takes to be dentures, apparently pleased by her compliment.

"Thank you. It's been passed down all the way from my great-grandfather," his tone is a bit proud as he looks down at the cane.

Emily smiles in return, the expression more genuine now.

"That's cool!"

The old man chuckles. Then, silence falls as she finishes scanning and presses a button on her computer. The total rings up and she reads it aloud to him. He reaches into his pocket and withdraws a worn leather wallet. From within, he pulls a fifty-dollar bill and hands it to her. In a few deft strokes of the keys, the exchange is complete and his change is being handed back. As he puts it away, she bags his groceries with the quick, practiced movement of someone who has done it over and over again.

"Need help carrying these out?" she asks as she finishes.

"Oh, no. I might carry a cane, but I'm still spry," he waggles his thick brows, grinning.

Emily laughs in response, gathering up the bags and handing them to him.

"Just wanted to check. Have a nice day, sir."

"You as well, dear."

With that, the old man departs, cane tapping along without being truly used. Emily looks after him for a moment, smiling slightly quizzically. Not a bad ending to a crappy day. Even a short conversation with a nice customer can brighten things for her. She's actually glad for once that Judith is a lazy good-for-nothing coworker who always opts out when she can. If she hadn't Emily wouldn't have gotten to talk to the nice old man.

As soon as the automatic door slides shut behind him, she steps away from the register and looks at the clock on her computer. 3:53, seven minutes till her shift ends. She scoffed. She won't be getting much done in seven minutes. With a shameless strut, she makes her way over to the office and opens the door.

Heath barely glances up when she enters the room, too engrossed with something on his computer screen. Emily almost winces when she sees him. Short, pudgy, and balding, he always reminds her of the satyr character in Disney's _Hercules_. The light shines through his thin hair, highlighting his scalp, and his paunchy stomach causes his golf shirt to strain in what looks to be an uncomfortable manner. An open snack-sized bag of chips lays near the keyboard his thick fingers rest on. Watery eyes gaze dully at an absolutely ancient desktop monitor, taking in a chart of some sort. As Emily reaches for her time card, Heath gives a loud cough, presumably clearing his airways enough to speak.

"Leaving for the day?" he asks, not looking up.

Emily makes an affirmative sound, slipping the card into the clocking device. Heath coughs again, reaching into his bag of chips with a loud crinkling.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yup. Produce is done, so, see you."

Before he can say anything else, she zips out of the office and through the automatic door, black leather purse in hand.

Once outside, Emily pauses to stretch her hands up to the sky, as if to grasp a bit of freedom from the blue expanse. Her fingers slowly curl into fists, tendons tensing under the numerous bangles on her wrists. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the newly arrived summer. Summer is, without a doubt, her favorite season. Warmth and sun and blue skies are what make her thrive. When her hair turns a bit closer to blonde than brown and her skin takes on the dark sun-kissed tone gained from hours of lying by the pool in the backyard, she feels at her most beautiful.

Hearing a car pulling into the parking lot, she quickly opens her eyes and bolts for the bike rack. Her fingers fly through the combination with a practiced speed and, as soon as it unlocks, she shoves both chain and lock into her purse. Then, without pause, she swings onto the bicycle and peddles away like the devil himself is after her, wary of being caught outside and called back for overtime.

The ride from work is always Emily's favorite part of the day. The town limits are only two miles from the store. A mile beyond that, down a long driveway, in a little cluster of four houses shielded by a stand of trees, is home. The house Nemu's grandparents left to her is a sprawling two-story Victorian style with a wraparound porch and similar balcony on the second floor. Its smoky grey siding, white accents, and black shingled roof have all taken a place of familiarity in Emily's mind.

Seeing that house immediately sets her at ease because, inside, the people who she associates with the word 'family' live. The ride home is her favorite part of the day because she knows that, at the end of it, she'll be in a safe haven, where there are few expectations placed on her. The biggest threat is the possibility that Amber might retaliate for a prank Emily pulled on her weeks ago, or that Jade might trip down the stairs from the second floor again. Nemu will be in the kitchen, mothering them all as she always does, singing to herself in alternating Japanese and English. As soon as Emily walks through the door, Nemu will run to greet her with a hug, smiling so widely that her eyes squint almost shut. Jade will be sitting in her wicker chair on the second-floor balcony, laptop on her knees as she types away at that book that she swears spawned from a dream she had around the time of her birthday. Amber will have just arrived home from the library and, despite Nemu's insistence that she can cook on her own, be in the kitchen with their landlady.

Emily's legs are in almost constant motion as she whisks past stores and houses, down the edge of the road and out of town. She pauses only at stop signs and red lights, waiting impatiently until she can again start peddling. A man in a pickup truck playfully races her down the main street out of town, causing her to grin at him when she reaches the last stop sign before him. He gives a good-natured salute and turns down a crossroad as she continues on.

Fifteen minutes one-way, the bike rides to and from work are what have kept Emily in the shape she's in. Her adoptive father, a blue-collar worker with a love for hunting, had often gone riding with her on warm summer days. After her adoption as an infant, she grew up in a happy home where she never lacked. They did not have much excess, and both of her parents worked to sustain them, but, their home was a place of laughter and nurturing. She was especially close with her father while growing up, connecting with his bright personality and easy smile. His booming laugh was a source of comfort and his calloused hands had always been quick to help. Her mother had been quieter and a bit more serious, but no less good-humored. They were older now, edging toward their sixties, and had adopted her later in life, after they realized that they were unable to have children of their own. As a little girl, she'd been the type who wore pink and spoke like a young lady. She was also the type who got into brawls with the boys on the playground. Her mother had been disappointed every time. Her father had disciplined her only when she was the one who had started the altercation. It's because of him that she still doesn't regret punching Jimmy Eicher's tooth out when he pulled her hair.

Her parents had also been very concerned with how much time she spent outdoors. Her mother fretted that too much time watching TV or reading alone in her room could be detrimental, which led to her spending a great deal of time tromping around the woods with her father. As soon as she was old enough, she'd had a bow in hand as well, going with him on every hunting trip she could. The memory of receiving her own bow on her thirteenth birthday is still one of her favorites. She can clearly recall the way her father had grinned at her exclamation of surprise and joy as the paper was torn away, his dark eyes twinkling and his teeth shining through his black beard. How her mother hugged her tightly, smelling of the flowers she worked with every day. That same bow sits in Emily's closet now, regularly kept up, but used only when time allows her to go hunting. And her father feels well-enough. Years of manual labor are beginning to wear on him, and he's fading far past his prime. Still, that doesn't stop him from visiting on his way home from work whenever he can. The sound of his old pickup truck pulling up the driveway is one that always has all three of the younger girls running to the front porch.

Reaching the end of the driveway, Emily turns quickly and puts on a burst of speed. The trees ahead stand in a thick, broad clump, a dark arch between them marking where the drive continues up to the houses within. Eagerly, Emily races under the boughs and is immediately surrounded by the dappled light that shines through the foliage. A few moments later, she pulls onto the roundabout at the end of the driveway.

The four houses stand in a semicircle, contained within the shade of the trees around them. Sun shines into the clearing in patches, some of it blocked by the large oak tree that grows in the center of the roundabout. Emily quickly circles the oak, riding past a stone Edwardian house. A red brick Edwardian stands across the clearing from it, on the opposite side of Nemu's house, next to the shockingly violet Colonial style home. Emily has never really understood why anyone would ever choose that color, but, she's gotten used to seeing it every day. It lost its shock factor after a while. The others are nice to look at, but, since no one lives in them, they're a bit creepy, in Emily's opinion. Empty windows gaze out on the four women as they go about their daily lives and it's all too easy to imagine a face at one of the dusty portals, eyes tracking them. With a shudder, she moves on, as she always does, riding her bike around the back of the house to lean it against the siding.

A smaller, adjoining clearing serves as the backyard for the girls. At the far end, a worn and hole-riddled archery target stands in the shadows of the trees. A small garden sprawls off to one side, still a mass of tilled dirt and barely-there sprouts. Eventually, it will be a tangle of greens, reds, oranges, and whatever other colors tickled Nemu's fancy when she planted it. The rest of the yard is grass that's nearly at ankle height despite having been cut just that past Saturday. Emily hops off her bike and rolls it through the grass, dragging it up to the back of the house and leaning it there. Then, already able to hear the chatter of voices within, she bounds up the porch steps and lets herself in through the unlocked back door. None of them are particularly concerned about break-ins when they live so far from others.

As soon as she steps through the door, the smell of food assaults her. Emily pauses, taking a deep breath. Cumin and curry are the most distinguishable scents, though, she catches undercurrents of other spices mixed with cooking meat. The sharp tang of cooking vegetables is also present. Smiling happily, she makes her way into the kitchen, knowing fully what she'll find there.

As soon as she rounds the corner, there's a flurry of motion and, suddenly, she's being dragged into a hug. Engulfed in the scent of sweet perfume and shampoo, she laughs, quickly returning the hug as Nemu's bony chin digs into her shoulder.

"Welcome home, Em!" the Japanese woman nearly sings in her ear, "We missed you!"

Over Nemu's shoulder, Emily can see Amber still at the stove, deftly handling two separate woks. The younger girl glances up, her glasses catching the light. She gives a small nod and only slightly larger smile before turning back to her work. She's obviously already been home for a while, she's already wearing a loose tank top and pajama bottoms. Her dark hair falls down to the middle of her back in a mess of waves and loose curls, in the uncaring manner of one who is done for the day.

"Missed you too, Nemu," Emily replies as the older woman steps back, a wide smile lighting up a porcelain face suitable for a china doll, "What's cooking?"

Nemu almost titters in apparent excitement as she rushes back to the stove to help Amber. They trade utensils and places with a practiced efficiency. Once away from the stove, Amber ducks down to check something in the oven, pulling it open just a crack to peek inside.

"Beef Lok Lak, dear," Nemu tells their newcomer, "With rice, stir-fried greens, and naan bread."

Emily can't help the way her grin widens in response to her landlady's enthusiasm. Nemu's almost always happy, about the food they're cooking, the way the house is set up, the girls' days at work, or anything else really. Even on those depressing days when Emily has a particularly rough time at grocery store hell, Nemu comes in like the sun shining on a cloudy morning. It's like nothing can ever get her down. The last time Emily saw her even look sad was when Amber lost her parents. Even when she was fighting to help emancipate Amber for that two or so months before she turned eighteen, she worked with a quiet surety, never once doubting her abilities and almost always maintaining her smile. That was a trying time for all of them, but, they came through by sticking together and letting Nemu guide them.

Emily noses over to glance into the woks, breathing in the scents of the Asian cuisine.

"Nice. Smells good."

Her blue eyes sweep the room, then, taking in the small, square table that they used for their daily meals, the softly buzzing refrigerator, and the freshly wiped counters that run along the walls of at least half the room. There's no sign of the house's other occupant anywhere in the kitchen. No empty cups sit in the sink, where she always leaves them, no books have been forgotten on the table, and no cardigan is hung over her chair. Emily cocks her head. Usually, by this time, Jade would have exploded across the house, leaving traces of her passing in every room she went through. Especially on her day off after she finished working a late-night shift at the Paper Moon. Jade is a creature of habit, and she isn't displaying those habits.

"Where's Jade?"

Amber has moved to one of the overhead cabinets and is pulling out the numerous dishes that will be needed for dinner.

"Upstairs, on the balcony. She's been working on her novel for the past three hours is what Nemu said."

Nemu nods, turning off the burners and placing lids on the woks.

"I had to remind her about Kendo this afternoon. She was almost late because she was writing. Apparently, she found some inspiration."

Emily can't help but smirk at that. Jade is, and always has been, a bit of an odd duck. Socially awkward and innately clumsy, she was usually the girl who was picked on at Mayville High School. That changed in her junior year, when a man named Tateo Watamura moved to Mayville from New York, bringing his Kendo dojo, and his adult son's family, with him. Watamura's granddaughter, Katherine, once enrolled in school, quickly befriended Amber, as they shared similar interests. Jade was friendly with Amber at the time though, due to their age difference, they didn't spend much time together. When Amber revealed to her new friend that Jade was often a target of bullying, Katherine had expressed her concern at her family's dinner table, leading to the delivery of an invitation to one of the sessions at the dojo. Curious, particularly about the martial art's Japanese connections, Jade accepted. That first class went exceptionally well. Within a month, she purchased her own gear and became a regular student. Now, four or so years later, she's a little less clumsy, quite a bit surer of herself, and a lot thinner. Her new confidence only fails when it comes to men who appear to be around her age. She always turns into a blushing, stuttering mess. Emily finds it hilarious. The girl can emanate enough of a killing aura to scare Chuck Norris and cut an entire watermelon in half without shifting the pieces, but, take a sword out of her hands and she'll trip over thin air and run away any time a young man smiles at her.

"Would you mind telling her it's time to eat when you head up?" Nemu continues as Amber begins setting the table.

Emily gives a small shrug.

"Sure. I'll give it my best shot. Might be difficult if she's in the zone, or whatever."

Amber makes a soft sound of what might be amusement, but, makes no comment.

Emily leaves the kitchen through far door, exiting into the living room, which sits at the center of the downstairs. A flight of stairs is set into one wall, leading up to a large landing that overlooks the room below. A doorway under the stairs marks the flight that leads down to Nemu's basement apartment. The living room itself is comfortably furnished with three couches, two armchairs, and a rather ornately carved coffee table, all of which is arranged before an iron-grated fireplace. The landing above has been turned into a library of sorts, with numerous bookshelves set against the wall, two soft chairs arranged for comfortable reading, and a card table set up for board games. Three doors lead off the landing, one to a bathroom, one to Emily's room, and one to Jade's.

The blonde woman knocks on Jade's door, despite it being opened a crack. Sometimes, her younger friend simply doesn't close it all the way because she feels safe at home. The last time Emily took that as an invitation to simply walk in, she had an unwanted eyeful that revealed just how much Kendo was helping with Jade's figure. There's no reply, so, Emily simply raises her voice and calls:

"Hey! Food!"

She pauses for a moment, hearing some scrambling within. Satisfied, she moves over to her own door, which is marked by a sparkling gold sign featuring Emily's name with an arrow shot through it. The sign was a gift from Jade on their first Christmas together in the house, before Amber joined them. With the weary sigh of one finally returning home after a long day, she pushes the door open and steps into her room. It isn't the biggest, but it's enough to house her bed, nightstand, dresser, and computer desk. As she steps inside, closing the door fully behind her, she has to force her eyes away from the soft twin bed with its fluffy golden comforter and feather pillows. It's all too tempting to jump in, curl up, and skip dinner altogether. Instead of giving into that temptation, though, she carelessly strips off her work uniform, tossing it onto the floor, and replaces it with a sleeping shirt and shorts. Her fingers deftly pull the tie from her hair and drag through the light strands, shaking them out. Her numerous bangles are removed and returned to the bowl on top of her dresser and her earrings to the stand next to it.

After pulling on a comfy pair of socks, she rejoins her surrogate family in the kitchen, the last to arrive. Nemu looks up with a smile as Emily takes her chair.

"Good! Now we're all here!" she turns her eyes, so inky blue that they're nearly black, on Amber, "Now, Amber, you may get some bread."

Emily bites back a smirk at Amber's almost mutinous expression as Nemu passes her the basket of naan bread. It is well-known throughout the house that Amber is a notorious bread thief. Not of sandwich bread, but of any that is freshly baked. As soon as it comes out of the oven, it's likely that Amber will be there to snatch a piece. None of her housemates are quite sure why this is, since there's always enough to go around, and questioning her has received only a few shrugs and a 'I like warm bread' in reply. Once, when Emily teased her about it, Amber retaliated by taking _all_ the biscuits the following morning and stubbornly holding them hostage, giving them only to Jade and Nemu when they asked nicely.

"Thank you," the dark-haired girl murmured, quickly taking a piece of the naan bread before passing the basked to Jade, who sits to her left, directly across from Nemu.

Jade takes the basket and, as though drawn by the motion, Emily immediately pounces.

"So, you much have really been on a roll if you almost missed Kendo today," she grins suggestively, "Writing a hot sex scene?"

Nemu gives her an amused but reprimanding look, which is ignored. As expected, Jade blushes lightly and quickly shakes her head. Her brown hair, still bound up in a ponytail from Kendo, swings with the motion, nearly smacking her in the face. Emily never can resist teasing her when she gives such enjoyable reactions.

"No! I just…had a dream last night that gave me some inspiration."

Emily takes the bread as she passes it, still grinning.

"Oh? What kind of dream?"

Amber glances up from carefully picking up a bit of rice and meat with her chopsticks, raising her eyebrows over her glasses.

"I doubt it was what you're hoping, Emily."

Jade nods firmly in agreement before replying.

"It was different than the other one I used. Instead of being in a market, it was in a residential part of town, I think. I was walking by myself and this man started harassing me. It was like all my training just abandoned me, and I couldn't fight back."

"Goodness! That sounds like a nightmare!" Nemu exclaims around a bite, her eyes wide as she listened intently.

"It seemed that way at first. And it felt so real, just like the last one. But, just when I thought I was going to be assaulted, that same man stepped in."

Emily frowns slightly, waving her chopsticks aimlessly in a display of rather poor table manners.

"That samurai guy?" her question was greeted with a nod, causing her to make an amused sound, "Were you watching anime again last night?"

When Jade makes a face at her, Amber glances up again.

"Hush. Let her finish."

"Yes, what happened then?" Nemu asks, intrigued.

"Well, he scared off the one who was harassing me and told me that a lady shouldn't walk alone…then, he walked me home."

Emily, still grinning teasingly, leans her cheek into her hand, pointing at Jade with her chopsticks.

"Awww. It's a shame this guy isn't real. He sounds like a sweetheart," she jabbed at the younger girl, nearly poking Jade's arm, "Is he hot?"

Jade frowns at her, disliking the teasing. Her brown eyes are reproachful as she scoots her chair a bit away from Emily and towards Amber.

"I guess. He's just a dream…"

This leads to a loud laugh from the light-haired woman. Louder than the situation really dictates, which, really, proves how glad she is to be home with her housemates again. Emily dearly loves to laugh and will almost always try to create a situation in which she can.

"You've really got a 'dream guy'! Come on, give us something to go on! Maybe we can find a guy who looks like him and hook you up."

Jade blushes darkly at the mere thought of 'hooking up' with anyone. Amber sighs as she begins systematically pulling apart her naan bread and sopping up the Lok Lak sauce that has seeped to the edges of her plate. Nemu listens to the discussion with a small smile, quietly diminishing the beef and rice in front of her.

"You might as well give her some features, Jade. If you don't, she'll go on forever."

Emily grins unrepentantly, quite proud of her ability to doggedly pursue a topic and finally annoy the other party into acquiescing to her. Jade fidgets in her seat, disliking the amount of attention on her. Her bared neck slowly flushes as red as her face.

"…He's got green eyes and brown hair, lighter than mine," is all she says before beginning to wolf down her food, cutting off conversation.

Her older housemate sniggers in response, considering saying more, but, is cut off by Nemu's gentle glance of warning. Emily's smile falters just slightly. There was something else in that glance, beyond the usual 'that's enough' look. Something dark and sad and even worried. Then, before she can even really be sure of its presence, it passes and Nemu is again smiling. Emily watches her for a moment, a bit concerned. As unsure as she is about what she actually saw, though, she returns to the dinner conversation. Jade almost completely drops out of the interactions, causing the blonde woman to feel a little badly for her badgering. Amber makes up for it in her usual straight-laced manner, recounting her adventures at the library earlier that day. 'Adventures' meaning the number of soda bottles she had to pick up after teenagers using the public computers left them there.

Throughout the duration of Amber's recounting, Emily keeps an eye on Nemu. The Japanese woman laughs along with Amber's story, all smiles and shining eyes. Emily begins to think that she imagined the look after all. What reason would Nemu have to be sad? They are all safely together at home, eating, talking, and laughing together.

A low buzz interrupts the conversation. Nemu jolts at the sound, surprised, and stands quickly to retrieve her phone from the kitchen counter. Jade gets up as well, then, taking her empty plate to the sink. A brief silence falls as the dinner conversation is halted by the two leaving the table. Nemu quickly answers the incoming call, leaning against the counter. Emily doesn't think she's realized it, but, as soon as she saw the number, her dark eyes went serious again, and her smile looks a bit more forced than before.

"Hello?"

A pause as a garbled voice answers. Nemu's smile tenses more.

"Theo! It's been too long!" moves away from the counter, pulling the mouthpiece away from her face long enough to whisper to her housemates, "I have to take this."

Amber glances up from where she is tearing apart a piece of naan bread, no longer truly hungry, but unwilling to give up the bread. Emily gives her a brief smile that fades into a frown as Nemu leaves the room. It is out of character for their landlady to be so tense. Nemu's voice floats back to them as she walks quickly through the house, tone one of attempted nonchalance stained with something like tense anticipation.

"They have? Who was first?"

Jade turns her head to look over her shoulder from where she is washing her dishes, listening to Nemu's feet on the basement steps and what she says next.

"I should have guessed it would be him. How quickly did it happen?"

Her voice grew fainter.

"That fast. Alright. I'll see what I can do. Send me-"

Her voice fades as she disappears into her apartment in the basement. There is a long moment of silence at the table, then, Amber speaks.

"Maybe it's a business partner?"

As far as any of the girls knew, Nemu had a hand in a rather prestigious pharmaceutical company, Hollister's Family Medicines and Cures, acting as a manager of some sort. They had all looked it up at least once out of curiosity. Apparently, it had started when Japan's borders had opened in the mid to late 1800's due to the demand for Western medicine. A British man named Hollister and his wife had packed up his family business, moved into the island nation, and set up shop. Since that time, business had been good. They were a fairly small company, but, there was a lot of money to be made in the field, particularly when their products contained more natural ingredients, and were less expensive, than those of the larger corporations. Emily, at least, had been vaguely surprised. Even with those aspects going for them, she would have thought that they would have been run out of business by those bigger companies. Somehow, though, they remained quite successful, with offices and stores in many of the major cities of Japan and America particularly, and others spread throughout the world. Nemu, apparently, is some sort of liaison for the American side of things. None of the girls is sure what kind of salary she makes in that position, but, they all think that it must be impressive. And yet, she doesn't flaunt any sort of luxury. Amber has suggested that maybe she is simply saving it away, but, for what, no one can say.

"Could be…" Emily murmurs in response to the younger woman's suggestion.

There could be something going on with the company. That would explain Nemu's strained expression. But, something just doesn't feel right.

Amber finally reaches her limit on bread intake. Having helped cook, she retrieves a thick fantasy novel from her room, picks out a place on the couch, and settles down to read. Apparently, she has had enough speculation for the evening. Emily and Jade make quick work of stowing the leftovers and cleaning the kitchen, the two of them falling into the familiar pattern that has been built over the years of living together. As they work, Emily coaxes Jade into sharing what she's writing, ceasing with her teasing and approaching her housemate in a truly friendly manner. Jade has just agreed to let her read at least a portion when the sound of footsteps on the stairs interrupts them. Both young women move into the next room, Emily with her hands still damp.

Nemu enters the living room from the stairwell, looking uncharacteristically hassled. She carries her phone in one hand, her hair has been pulled from its loose ponytail to fall in a dark sheet nearly down to her waist, a style she wears only when she's paying little attention to her appearance. Emily's brows furrow just slightly. Nemu is always very conscious about her appearance, which means that, at the moment, she's stressed. All three girls have lived with her long enough to know the signs. She and Jade exchange a startled look.

"I'm sorry, girls," their landlady begins, dropping into one of the armchairs in that graceful way that Jade has often admitted she envies, "That was my coworker, Theo. Apparently, there's an emergency that needs addressed and I've been asked to fly to Japan."

Surprised looks are shared by her tenants.

"When?" Amber asks, book temporarily forgotten.

Nemu sighs, shoving her bangs out of her face impatiently.

"As soon as possible. He actually asked if I could fly out tonight, but, I couldn't even make it to an airport by then. I'll have to leave early tomorrow morning."

There's a pause as this news is received. Then, Emily allows a smile to slip over her face.

"Well, it's unfortunate I've got to go back to grocery store hell tomorrow. I'm tempted to call off and go with you."

Nemu gives her a returning smile, one that reaches her eyes only for a brief moment before the worry returns to them.

"I don't think they would let you into this meeting anyway. But, I promise I will get the three of you to Japan one day. We'll go be quintessential tourists. When I'm not on business."

Emily's smile widens into a grin as she tries to keep that feeling of normalcy going for those in the room. If Nemu is stressed about work, it won't do to let her know that they've picked up on it. It will only make her hide her anxiety to keep from worrying them.

"I'll hold you to it. And just think, we could save money by stuffing Amber into a carry-on. She's small enough to fit."

The youngest household member gives Emily an unimpressed look through her glasses as Nemu laughs. Even Jade cracks a smile. For a moment, it's like the call never came.

But Emily can't shake the sense that the still-lingering worry in Nemu's smile is about more than a business call. Nemu has dealt with similar situations before, and always been cool and collected. Something has rattled her. And Emily isn't sure what.

* * *

 **Sorry for that delay! I struggled with my muse going off and on and a summer of working long hours. But, a chapter is here! Anyone who read Wisps will remember our girls~ Sorry for no guys. Maybe soon, though.**

 **Unfortunately, for me, it's like 11:00 pm and I'm exhausted so, I don't have much to say. So, on to reviews!**

Anna Okumura: **Thanks so much! I did work hard on the description. Hope this answers your question!**

Scintilla of Myself: **Thank you! I hope that you enjoyed the update!**

SassInAssassin, Liliana, just-izzyy and Dai: **It's good to be back! Your kind words mean a lot. I certainly hope that this will indeed be better than the original :D**

reader: **Indeed it is! This story will focus a lot more on the backstory, since the last edition was so lacking**.

NarutoShippings and Ruriko: **Thank you so much, I almost cry when I read your reviews. I'm so glad you like this version! I will do my best to update at least semi-regularly from here on out so that we can all enjoy it more often!**


	3. Cause

_"_ _Cause: a person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition."_

 _April 30, 1868: Mikage Island Stronghold, Ishigaki._

The island of Kishi has a long and bloody history. It was won in battle nearly a thousand years ago by the Mikage, during a great war between the oni clans. Since then, it has been targeted numerous times by other clans who wish to claim it for themselves. Kishi is located nearly thirty two kilometers to the southeast of Hokkaido, making it a trial to reach by boat, yes, but that is one of the reasons the island is coveted. Created by one of the many volcanos that were once found throughout what is now the Pacific Ocean, the island itself is a great caldera, with natural, jagged stone walls surrounding its entirety. At its longest point, it is six and a half kilometers from shore to shore, and three at its shortest. The land there is fertile, perfect for growing. Throughout the year, the weather is mild, never becoming exceptionally cold or exceptionally hot. It is a paradise, far from the reach of any human who is not privy to the knowledge of its existence before and purposefully go there.

When it was discovered by its original owners, long before its takeover by the Mikage, they capitalized on its natural defenses, building a small town within the walls of the caldera, at the center of which was a keep. There, they flourished, keeping the island safe from human influence through the use of their abilities as oni and careful action. Their clan grew in numbers and strength over the course of a number of centuries, causing them to allow only those families with the most power to reside on the island. Even then, overpopulation was a significant issue. Tensions within the clan became high as war erupted. Refugees begged to be allowed onto the island and were denied. Finally, as animosities between lesser families and those in power grew, a member who was captured by the Mikage gave up the location of the carefully hidden island.

The Mikage attacked swiftly and without mercy. Within two days' time, they had massacred everyone who occupied the island town, aided by the smaller Keikoku clan. The Mikage immediately set up an outpost on the island, refortifying it and using it solely for military purposes. The grand homes of its former occupants were replaced with barracks, its gold-embossed palace remade into a command center, and its flower gardens repurposed so as to grow food for the new inhabitants. The island quickly became an impenetrable fortress in and of itself, growing in renown as a place of great military might within the oni world. After successfully repelling numerous attacks from other clans who wished to replicate the Mikage's conquest, the caldera was renamed 'Kishi', the knight that stands guard in the sea.

For nearly a thousand years, only the most foolhardy of attackers have even thought to attack Kishi. All within the oni world are aware of its strength and impenetrability. As the oni clans have diminished over time, pipe dreams of taking the island have been replaced by more pressing matters of survival. Clan feuds, human discovery, and other factors led to the complete extinction of many families. Others faded into anonymity in an attempt to hide themselves from the outside world. In the face of this, the previous head of the Mikage clan left Kishi with only a skeleton crew, trusting that its reputation would be more than enough to protect it. His son, Kaito never showed much interest in Kishi, as it served little strategic significance with so few clans about to contest the Mikage's power. It is likely that he left it as it was at his father's death, with only enough men left on the island to keep it functioning.

It is upon this likelihood that Nemu's entire plan hinges.

The boat ride to Kishi consisted of hours of traversing choppy sea water, an ominous bank of grey clouds hanging over them, threatening to spill rain upon them. Fortunately, none was forthcoming, and, as the sun sets, the clouds provide extra cover with the darkness they create. Cover is something that is most certainly necessary with two boats of this size.

Even before Nemu and Yoko retrieved Kondou Isami's undead corpse from Itabashi, a plan to take Kishi was underway. Soon after Nemu sought out the Suzuki siblings, she was taken to meet Sen-hime, a young oni princess, at one of the many temples that dotted Mount Kurama. Many of the Oni in the area had been asked to keep an eye out for Nemu after her exile, so that Sen-hime could meet her when the time was right. In this meeting, she proposed her plan to oppose Kaito. It was Sen who asked where Nemu would hide the bodies of the cursed Shinsengumi once she retrieved them. After all, she could not very well take them with her should she remain mobile. Nemu explained that she did not intend to continue running, and that she would take Kishi as her new home and base off operations. Sen, was, understandably, shocked by this revelation. However, when Nemu explained the state of neglect that the island fortress had fallen into, a gleam of understanding entered the princess's eyes. They spent hours discussing a plan to take Kishi, eventually settling on a course of action that may win them the island. There would be no room for error, they agreed. Everything would have to fall into place almost exactly.

And, thus far, it has.

On April 29, four days after the excursion to Itabashi, Nemu met Sen-hime again on the coast of Hokkaido. During their time apart, Sen arranged for two eight-passenger boats to be procured. She also gathered ten oni of varying ages, blood purity, and walks of life, all of whom were willing to join in the fight for Kishi if it meant creating a new life outside of the caste system inflicted by oni society, particularly for the sakes of their families. Sen and her bodyguard, Kimigiku, joined them, filling the capacity of both vessels. The following day, on the afternoon of April 30, the boats were launched. Nemu, Yoko, Katsuki and Ayumi occupy one, carrying two of their new comrades with them. Sen and Kimigiku remain with the others in the second boat. Their plan relies entirely on Nemu's memories of Kinshi from when her father took her to visit as a child. According to those memories, the only way to enter Kishi is through a channel cut in the base of the caldera. At the entrance is a portcullis that must be raised from the inside by a guard who is to be hailed by those wishing to pass. A messenger is then sent to inform the others within Kishi of the arrival. Entering the channel will not be an issue. Taking Kishi itself will be another matter. Despite that, it is necessary.

Kondou Isami's body, now with its head reattached, has been moved to the small cargo hold of Nemu's boat. The former princess remains grateful of his death-like state due to the cramped space he is forced to occupy. Even looking at the way his body has been folded as tightly as possible into the tiny hold makes her cramp sympathetically. It has been both terrifying and fascinating to watch his healing process. Over the first two days, Ayumi worked tirelessly on healing the vital systems that connected through the neck, Katsuki having cleaned the wounds and removed the grave soil from within him as best he could. It had indeed fallen down inside following his burial. The healing itself has taken place in shifts. Every oni's power feeds on their own energy, unlike the rasetsu, who use up their human life force to feed their superhuman powers. Because of this, Oni regenerate their energy, and power, over time, with the right amount of rest. Combined with their exceptional speed and strength, they truly are fearsome in comparison to humans. Ayumi's ability is particularly impressive, especially for one whose line was 'tainted' by human blood. Rather than just using her power in a visible effect or attack, she is capable of transferring her energy to another. This could be used as a second wind for an exhausted individual, or, as in her healing of Kondou, a concentrated effort focused on one particular area of the body. Never before has she ever attempted anything of _this_ caliber, though. The curse keeps him alive, allowing her to work in stages. First, she reattached his food and airways, followed by his spinal column. It was both terrifying and horrific to watch as she laid a finger over each part, feeding his body the energy to heal something that should have killed him. When she reattached his veins and arteries, however, they realized for the first time just how potent, and truly terrible, Kaito's curse is. As soon as the passageways for his blood were healed, they began to pulse in time with his heartbeat, something that should have been impossible.

Nemu stares down at the man in the cramped cargo hold. Aside from a faint scar around the circumference of his neck, he is again whole. He may as well just be asleep in an odd place and position. She herself has felt his pulse, resting two fingers against his throat and then against his wrist to assure herself of its reality. Ayumi explained to her that the brain is like the commander of an army, giving direction to the rest of the body. When Kondou Isami's head was cut off, those orders stopped being relayed. His brain, too, should have died and fallen silent, unable to relay anything. Due to Kaito's curse, though, this did not happen. The samurai's body simply fell into a state like that of deep sleep. When Ayume reconnected his neck, all that was required to restart his heart was a few compressions of his chest. To fill his lungs, Ayumi herself breathed for him, as she would for a person who had taken in too much water. Then, his pulse and breath became steady. It was disturbing at the time and is no less so now.

A soft breath draws Nemu's gaze to where Ayumi lays on a makeshift bed of blankets and coats, sleeping after days of using her healing powers. Nemu can only imagine how much energy she lost in the task. She can only hope that her newfound ally will not become sick due to the dampness in the air and her lack of bodily defenses during this voyage. Even as she watches, Katsuki leans over and pulls off his traveling cloak, laying it over his sister in another layer of protection against the elements. He then looks up, meeting Nemu's eyes. He resembles his sister, with brown hair and dark eyes. However, his expression is a bit more stern and his gaze more serious. Katsuki is like the monks who populate the temples on his home mountain, stalwart and strong in both mind and body. He inclines his head to Nemu.

"My lady, are you well?"

Nemu gives a nod in return. She feels badly that Katsuki knew her only a short while before her blunder with the daughters of her friends. She knows that she is withdrawn in her interactions with her comrades, but, the heaviness of her heart keeps all joy out of reach. She knows that Katsuki worries but does not feel that it is his place to speak openly with her, despite her assurances.

"I am. My thoughts are occupied with our venture."

It is mostly true. Even as she wonders at the state of their undead passenger, her thoughts linger on the fortress they are about to attempt to breach with only fourteen fighters. Sen will remain behind with Ayumi to guard her, sending her personal attendant, Kimigiku, to assist them in securing entrance. Not for the first time since they set out, Nemu wishes that Kadan is with them. She also prays that he is not present on Kishi, else no plan with only fourteen fighters will be successful. For generations, the Keikoku have served as personal guards of the Mikage lords. Even as a child, Kadan was hailed as a prodigy. He is one of the strongest Oni Nemu has ever encountered, and one of the kindest. But, his kindness does him no good when his oaths to Kaito bind him to his lord's will. She desperately wishes that there were some way to undo his oaths and bring him to her side, but, every trail she has followed concerning the matter has led only to a dead end.

"I have no doubt off our success, my lady. Even if we do not find it as deserted as we hoped, we will be able to turn back and find a temporary residence where a plan can be formulated," Katsuki's voice pulls her from her thoughts of Kadan.

Yoko looks back from the prow, her sleeve held over her mouth as though to ward off the damp air and sea-spray. She is decidedly displeased with their current situation, as she had no wish to ever sail on any body of water, much less the ocean.

"I certainly hope we do not need to turn back. I have no desire to be twice as wet as I am now," she says peevishly.

No one speaks for a long while after that, Yoko's negative words having effectively killed the conversation.

It seems like years before the two boats finally approach their destination, guided by the capable hands of two skilled sailors. A bead of sweat trickles down Nemu's face, soaking into the high collar of her shirt. As they near Kishi, Yoko stands, grumbling. She raises her hands, a gesture that is not necessary for using her power but helps in focusing it. Though Nemu sees no change, she knows that they will appear as nothing more than driftwood upon the night sea. Yoko's illusions are powerful, but, they are not capable of making something seem like nothing. They are also reliant upon what the viewer expects to see. In the minds of those on watch, no one would dare attack Kinshi, meaning that they do not expect the two small boats. Unchallenged, the group slides through the water, toward the portcullis.

The bars hang like the teeth off some great beast, only darkness behind them. Nemu is relieved to see that there are no lanterns at the guardhouses that are built into the walls of the caldera on either side of the portcullis. This means that they are conserving oil and have decided that the night watch here does not require lit lamps. They are lax in their security, confident that no attack will come. The boats drift so close that they nearly bump up against the metal bars. The Oni manning Nemu's craft looks back at her and nods. Nemu takes a deep breath. Now, they enact their plan.

The female Oni looks hard at the walkway that lies beyond the portcullis, barely visible in the darkness of the channel tunnel. She wills herself to be there, and, a moment later, appears on that spot. Her feet are unsteady as she lands, as she is still out of practice and unused to using her powers in this manner. Fortunately, she has made no noise as she regains her balance. Wearing black clothes similar to those she used in retrieving Kondou Isami, she blends into the shadows like a wraith. Nemu creeps up a short flight of stone stairs and to the wooden door of the guardhouse, her gaze on the faint light spilling through the crack at the bottom. The door on the opposite side of the channel is dark, signaling that guardhouse's emptiness. Her hand creeps to the short sword that rests just below the small of her back, at the base of her spine. Her fingers wrap around the hilt and, with the other hand, she knocks three times. Not suspicious in the least, the guard within opens the door.

He has no time to react as Nemu slices through his neck, unwilling to take chances with his regeneration. The second guard cries out in surprise as his comrade's head falls away from his body. His hand grips his sword to draw it from his sheath, but, Nemu appears behind him, her landing with her teleportation much smoother now. She silences him in much the way she silenced his comrade, relieving him of his head. Breathing harshly, she stands for a moment, her bare hand splattered with blood. She has just killed members of the Mikage clan, her own kinsmen. Distant kin, but kin nonetheless. She waits for the guilt, but, none is forthcoming. Instead, there is only a sadness that it has come to this, killing her clansmen for the sake of living a stable life.

Sword still in hand, Nemu moves away from the corpses and back through the door. The lever that operates the portcullis stands next to the guardhouse, secured by large metal bolts. With a herculean effort, Nemu applies herself to the lever, struggling against the sea-borne rust on the metal. Her slender body is not built for feats of strength, but, with the proper leverage, she manages to throw her weight against the rod enough to make it shift. With a loud grating sound and the rattling of chains, the portcullis rises. Nemu stands near the lever, watching the passage that leads into Kishi. They have breached the natural defenses, but, there are still the Oni who wait within. The tunnel amplifies the sound of the rising portcullis, causing it to turn into a deafening echo. It will very possibly bring the enemy down on their heads, but, no more than a few curious Mikage soldiers. Numbers that can easily be dealt with.

The boats slide into the tunnel and pause in the channel long enough for those who will be joining the coming fight to step out. While they provide the proper diversion in their takeover, the boats will continue down to the small lake at the end of the channel, on the opposite side of which is a sizeable dock. Katsuki looms next to Nemu, a hulking shadow that dwarfs her in the gloom of the dark tunnel. Since allying with her, Katsuki has become her knight of sorts, taking his loyalty to her and her cause very seriously. Like Yoko, he is not quite sure why she feels the need to rescue the cursed human men of the Shinsengumi, but, as long as that is her mission, he will assist her. Just as he is assisting her in the takeover of Kishi.

Yoko stands at her other side, her sleeve again held over her mouth and nose, as though she smells something distasteful. The others gather around them, save for those who remain in the boats, which bob gently on the tide of the channel as ocean water cycles in and out of the tunnel.

"And now?" she asks with the same impertinent expectation that colored her earlier words.

Nemu glances at her before replying, her voice very low.

"The city lies just beyond the lake. There will be a few people there, workers who care for the fields that lay to the eastern side of the bowl. Do not harm them, they are mere farmers. The soldiers, last I heard, were all male and all well-trained. Beware, do not charge without caution."

"How many are there?" a voice whispers to her right.

Nemu shakes her head, "I do not know an exact tally. But, there are not many."

There are some murmurs. Then, at a signal from the exiled heiress, the movement nearly lost in the darkness, the group begins to run quietly down the tunnel, some of them, led by Kimigiku, slipping back into the boats so as to be taken to the opposite side of the canal. Nemu presses on along the western walkway a heavy coldness settling over her heart. How many will die this night? How much blood will stain her previously clean hands? She has just killed for the first time. She should feel guilty, disgusted, ashamed, even. She can only feel that same sense of sadness at the current state of things. And a mercilessness that frightens her. For the sake of those who are with her, the families who wait for them, and the daughters of her dear friends, whom she took from their parents, she will kill as many times as she needs to. This she knows with certainty. She remembers her father warning her brother of the dangers of enemies with a cause, that they are the most dangerous. How right he was. And Kaito has given her the perfect cause by threatening those she cares about.

Obviously, the raising of the portcullis was not heard, because the first patrolmen they meet are caught off-guard by their appearance. The pair sit at the base of the caldera wall on stools, a shogi board between them. They look up from their game, shocked by the sudden appearance of the infiltrators. Nemu moves like a ghost, her Oni speed carrying her between them. With two quick strokes, she ends their lives. As their bodies fall, the unmoving lips never given a chance to call out, Katsuki looks at her with something like disapproval.

"Mikage-sama, they may have been reasoned with."

Nemu's dark eyes flicker to him as she wipes her blade on the shirt of one of the dead men. A part of her agrees with him. Indeed, the old Nemu would have tried to reason with them, claim their loyalty, avoid bloodshed at all costs. But, she is not that woman now.

"Perhaps. But they have served my father and brother for a long time. A shift in loyalties is not guaranteed. We are few in number, and we plan to bring children to dwell here. I would not have potential wolves in our midst in the future."

It is a harsh reason, but a sound one. She can see the resolve in the eyes of a few of the older men who accompany her, those whose children she speaks of. They dislike the need to kill, but, for the sakes of those they love, they will. They agree, seeing the misfortune in what must be done, but knowing that it is necessary to ensure the safety of those who they seek to protect. The younger ones, those without families of their own, understand the reasoning but perhaps see it as too merciless to agree with it. Nemu watches the skin around Katsuki's eyes tighten as he take her words in. He gives a single nod in return, an act of deference, not of agreement.

Satisfied that her judgement will not be questioned again, Nemu moves on, leading her small group up the path that runs along the base of the naturally formed wall. Ahead, left open and vulnerable in the surety that the caldera's walls will be enough protection against potential enemies, lays the town that sprawls over much of Kishi's surface. The infiltrators slip between the houses soundlessly. Most of the buildings within are residential, and have dilapidated with time. Much of the town has laid abandoned for well over two centuries, when the Mikage ceased inhabiting the island and it took on the same status as an expensive toy that a child has outgrown: unlikely to be used but too valuable to be thrown away. Relieving Kaito Mikage of that toy takes only a short time. Once the guardhouse is found, or, rather, what has been claimed as the guardhouse, Nemu and her followers quietly overwhelm them. The element of surprise continues to be their greatest weapon as they move through the night, their dark clothes hiding them from the half-watching of the guards.

The moon has nearly reached its zenith when the dead are finally tallied. Fifteen Mikage soldiers, male oni of varying blood statuses and ages. Three of Nemu's followers have fallen in the attempt. Those others, noncombatants, have wisely chosen to remain indoors when the sounds of fighting reached them. It was not a battle, not truly. Not like that fought long ago. It was barely even a skirmish, Nemu thinks as she mounts the steps of the main house. It was a massacre in the night. Something underhanded, but necessary, and rather anticlimactic for the amount of worry and preparation they put into this venture. Kaito truly had not anticipated it. If he had, Kadan would have been present. And, then, things would not have gone nearly so well.

When the island's overseer, a too-thin man whose small eyes dart about, is found in his office, there is no one left to guard him. Kishi truly has fallen, for such a weak individual to be its ruler. He cowers where he ran to hastily gather things of value, watching Katsuki nervously, his gaze specifically focused on the large man's bloody blade.

Nemu steps into the room, a room decorated with faded splendor, much like the rest of the island. Immediately, the man's eyes flicker to her, identifying her as the leader.

"Wh-who are you?" he rasps, breathing hard.

Nemu regards him for a moment, expression impassive. She feels…nothing. That in and of itself sends a pang of distant worry though her.

"Nemu Mikage. The new Lady of this island."

The overseer's eyes bulge, in shock, fear, or disbelief, Nemu does not know.

"Kaito-sama will not stand for this," he says tremulously, "Once he hears of this, he will come to take Kishi again. You will not hold this place. You will all die."

Nemu's grip on her sword tightens and she steps forward, unhurriedly.

"I sincerely hope that he does hear about this," she replies, tone unchanged, "Let him know the price of his arrogance."

She brings her sword down, severing the man's head from his body. When it falls, she bends slightly, using the man's shirt to clean her blade.

"We will ensure that the island is secure, then, we will settle hear for the night. In the morning…the real work begins."

In her periphery, she sees Katsuki pause for just a moment before bowing slightly and leaving the rejoin the others.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry for the delay. This chapter has been sitting on my computer for months, just needing its ending. As it's rather late where I am at the moment, I don't have many comments to make. Thank you to all my reviewers. Much will be revealed in the next chapter, which I hope to post relatively soon. I hope you enjoyed this update.**


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